Dee-lightful
Comedian Jack Dee on the success of his sitcom.
JACK DEE knew he had a solid gold hit on his hands with his sitcom Bad Move when he found himself thinking about Christmas . . . in February.
So well received was the first series about the travails of a couple who move to the wilds of Yorkshire that ITV not only commissioned a new batch, but also asked for a festive special.
“That was a really nice nod to the success of the show,” admits Jack. “We’d started writing it in February and we knew it was snowing there, very different from the lovely weather we had filming the first series later in the year.
“So we got a film crew to go along and get some shots of snow on the fields. Then there was all sorts of magic going on to have snow on the set while we were filming and, of course, there are interior shots which you dress up and it all looks much more wintery than it really is.” Bad Move, written by Jack and Pete Sinclair, follows Steve, played by Jack, and wife Nicky (Kerry Godliman), who are both on their second marriages and decide that moving from city life in Leeds to the countryside will be the perfect place for a new life. Unfortunately, the reality of a rundown property in the middle of nowhere is very different from what they imagined.
The second series begins with them trying to effect repairs on the dilapidated home and Jack says some more screen “magic” came in to play here, too.
“We film on the North Yorks Moors and it is a nice house used as a holiday cottage,” he says.
“The art department spend quite a long time making it look a lot worse than it is, like seeming to have rotten windows.”
The first series last year averaged over four million viewers, leading to ITV’S swift re-commissioning. While Jack was delighted by the response, he says he already had a feeling he was on to a good thing from the smiles of recognition it brought from friends when he told them what he was working on. But, while Bad Move is very much a peak-time success, it evolved from of a bit of daytime viewing.
“The idea came about when I got heavily into watching Escape To The Country with my wife,” explains Jack. “It’s nearly always people on their second marriage being shown round these houses in the middle of the country. I find it highly entertaining, but it started me thinking about what happens to them, as we never see the end result. “What if it doesn’t work out? What if it’s a disaster? It might not always be houses, but we all have things we’re stuck with and wish we hadn’t done.
“Who knew that watching daytime television could lead to all kinds of things!”
Jack is especially chuffed that ITV took on the show as they aren’t really known for their sitcom output. And in these often tumultuous times, having a laugh is more important than ever.
“There is such an element of escapism in sitcoms. It’s a world you want to spend half an hour in.
“If you think of a sitcom like Seinfeld, you think that you just want to be in that flat for a little bit and listen to the banter.”
Jack’s character in Bad Move can have a downbeat view of things but can also have what he says taken in a certain way because of his looks and manner. Jack’s grouchy-looking face has been at least part of his fortune and in his early days he took a look in the mirror and was shocked to see he looked grumpy when he felt anything but that.
That’s something that continues even now.
“I’m rarely aware of looking as miserable as I might appear,” he adds.
“I’m always surprised when I watch myself in the editing suite. “People often jump to the conclusion that I must be absolutely miserable, but it’s really not as bad as it seems.”
Good viewing figures and a third series of Bad Move are one way to put a smile on Jack’s face. Or maybe not.
Bad Move, ITV, Wed, 8pm.